Oklahoma is become increasingly European, according to Eliane Brown. When she first moved here from France in 1952, it was like a different world. “The two countries were like night and day,” she says. “People didn’t even cook with garlic.”

The Louisiana territory was claimed in 1682 on behalf of the French king by Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. At the time, Oklahoma, which was inhabited by nomadic and seminomadic Indians, was considered to be part of Louisiana Territory.